Tom Aspinall confirms he’s the backup for UFC 309, responds to Jon Jones

Stay ready so you don’t have to prepare. It’s not just a popular motivational mantra; for Tom Aspinall, this is exactly how he approaches UFC 309.

“I’m ready to go,” the interim UFC heavyweight champion told Uncrowned on Monday at the launch of The Ariel Helwani Showconfirming that he will serve as the official backup fighter for the scheduled November 16 fight between Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic. “If necessary, I will be ready on November 16.”

Although Aspinall is undergoing a full training camp to stay prepared for emergencies, he is not entirely convinced his services will be needed. “My gut tells me ‘no,’ to be honest,” he said when asked if he thinks Jones or Stipe need a replacement now less than five weeks away from UFC 309. “Do I think that’s going to happen ?Probably? In my opinion, probably not. But will I be absolutely ready?

It was late October 2023 when a torn pectoral tendon forced Jones to leave UFC 295, where he was originally scheduled to face Miocic in November 2023. In the year since, Aspinall has recorded two first-round knockout victories over Curtis Blaydes and Sergei. Pavlovich. Those two fights lasted a combined two minutes and nine seconds, which may be one reason why Aspinall is eager to fight. But make no mistake, he’s not after anyone in particular – or their accolades.

In August, Jones commented on a video of Aspinall, writing in part: “I absolutely guarantee he won’t win more world championships than me. That’s all that matters at the end of the day. There have been a lot of champions, no.” someone like me. I sleep well at night.

Aspinall disagrees with that sentiment.

“I don’t want to win as many championships as he does. I just want to be the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. That’s all,” Aspinall said, suggesting he’s here for a great run, not a long run. He added: “I want to make as much money as possible in the shortest amount of time and then bounce back and do something else. I want to get out of this sport healthy. Once I’ve done what I want to do, I have no interest in to be the best heavyweight ever and fight until I’m forty.”

That said, the interim champion isn’t quite sure at what age he’ll call it a career.

“Right now I feel great,” he said. “I feel on top of the world. I feel like the best heavyweight in the world. In terms of skills he is head and shoulders above everyone else in the division. Right now I have no thoughts of quitting.”

In a world where his services are not needed on November 16 and the scheduled fight between Jones and Stipe takes place, Helwani asked Aspinall for his prediction. “I would lean towards Jon just because he’s younger and a little bit fresher than Stipe,” the interim champion said. “Stipe, let’s be honest, we don’t really know where he stands. He’s absolutely the best heavyweight of all time, but he’s also like 42 years old. We have no idea what he’s going to look like. heavyweight MMA, you definitely never know, and that’s why this sport is so damn exciting, I would say, probably 60-40 (in favor of) Jon.”

Regardless of the outcome, Aspinall promises he has “big, big, huge plans” for the future. Although he won’t explain them in detail just yet, he spoke calmly and confidently, assuring that there are “other options” if the winner of Jones vs. Stipe doesn’t fight him.

“(If) one guy wants to retire, one guy wants to move on, both guys want to retire — whatever, we’ve got all the bases covered,” Aspinall said.